Automatic brake governor



Dec. 25, 1934. F. ROWLEY 1,985,744

AUTOMATIC BRAKE GOVERNOR Filed May 8, 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet l gwuenl'op-Frederick I. Bowley 3 Sheets-Sheet 12 I amniocl mdarz'ckl Ball/26y Dec.25, 1934. F. l. ROWLEY AUTOMATIC BRAKE GOVERNOR Filed May 8, 1950 w F 4III I I W M w k Patented Dec. 25 1934 itirmric isfitAfE weatherR6$vley', St. Patil ,'Miiih." I Ii appiiation' my 8, 1936, serial No. 450, 764 l "10 claims, (01183 181) I My invention relates to animprovement in automatic brake -:governors,pf a type particula r-1yadapted to be secured "to em; er the axles of a railway car or the like,for the purpose of governing the brakes uponai l of the wheels ofthecar. T r i l It is-the objector my'irivention to prevent the skidding'of the car wheels; particularly upon the trucks of railway "c'a'rswhehthe brakes are being 1, applied "to th'esa-ine. By keeping 'all'o'f thewheels turning, and preventing the locking of "the same, it is possibleto "avoid all trouble caused by flat or burnt spots on thewheelseiimihati-ng a great expense item in the upkeep bf the cars, 'anddoing away with much discomfort tothe passengers within the car. i

Iti's a feature or 'my invention that the wheels of the car are keptturning at all times by. the operation of my govern'onexcept when the engine'er or operator of the train desires to make an emergency stop. Atthis time, the governor maybe so connected as to be rendered inoperativeby merely applying a higher pressure of "air than is otherwise employed.In this manner, the governor will not "operate to prevent {the{necessarily quick stopping of the trainxin an emergency K J It is myobject to apply the governorito the railway car, and to provide the pairor wheels e 1 on the axle to which the a governor isxsecured skid, thewheels associated. with the governor will look before any of the otherwheels of the car. One pair of wheels may easily be provided with thisgreater breaking power byadjustment of the brake levers. a H L.

It is the object of my invention to connectmy brakegovernor with the airbrakeccylinder in such a manner that when the pairfof -wheels associatedwith the brake cylinder start. to lock? or skid, the governor acts torelease just-enough.

brake cylinder air, and thus relieve the pressure of the brakes justsufiioiently to allow, these governor wheelsto start re'volving againbefore they skid a sufiicierit time to bu'rhor wear a fiat spot on theSs'ameJ Just as soon as the saw erno'r' wheels start to revolve; the"governor acts to. stop the releasing or brake cylinder air. It

ma be seen that the ISlilt eroduce'd is that as much braking power aspossible be applied to the vvheel's at times when the t'ia-ih 01 car i's to be stopped, and atth'e sar'fie tirh'e the wheels will be kept'revblviflg ahd will fldt b' alid'we'd to skid.

The governor is so devised as to be equally erfective regardless of th'dir'tib'n b'f tffivlffth earand will operate in the sariie'mamierwiiethr the car is being pushed or pulled. Thusy'my governor isflexible in'i'ts applicants, aria no special care need be given itbeyondthe periodic inspections ordinarily inad'e of an iiiovir'i'g parts ofthe car.

It is a feature of thy invention that the brakes may be tested orapplied at-a depot "or on M1111 whether the train is in motion 'o'rstanding sun.

Aco'rdingly, while ordinarily the skidding of the wheels, or stopping ofthe same, will act to release the pressure in the brake cylinder, in'ygov- 8131101 is so bonnected that the may be kept from motion on a hillor at a station warrant the continual loss'of brake cylinder air;

It is the object of fny invention to provide a governor which will acttokeep a m'aiiiirifiih or braking-power while the wheels are still iiirhoti'on regardless of weather conditions; Inwarm dry weatherga brakepressure may be used which is more than sufiicient toiock or 'ski'd thecar wheels wet-or frosty weatlier'a The weather conditions andtheconditionsof the rails in different localities through which a train orcar may. pass varies -con'side"rably, and even with the utmost care thewheels are titan an'dwedto skid without the knowledge of the operate. itis fn' y purpose'to el minate tli'isf'po'ssibil-ity', and avoid thedamage caused thereby.

ot er novel fe tures. and objeots or interitio'ii will be mor {fullytreatment tbrtiii thefollbwing specification and claims.

n the amen-gs forming part oi this specifications j j s m gure 1muse-ates my governor diagramiiiaticaily, showing the ihethod ofconnecting the si'ari'ie to a car wheel axle. A H

is an elevation view of my governor,

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view through the center of my governor. sr ,1 t

Figure 4: is an elevation view :of my. governor, a part of which isbroker-'1 away toi'llustrate a different position of parts from thatshown in Figure 3. l a

Figure 5 is cross-securin "View through my go'verfier theliiies5 -=-'5of Figure 3'.

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a detail portion of my governor.

Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view of a detail portion of my governor.

My governor A is adapted to be secured upon the axle 10 of the car B. Abrace 11, extending from a suitable position upon the truck frame 0 tothe casing of the governor A prevents the rotation of the governor withthe axle 10, and the governor is withheld from moving laterally alongthe axle 10 by means of a collar 12 which is secured integrally to theaxle 10 and which fits over a projecting collar upon the immovableportion 13 of the governor. An inwardly extending flange 14 upon thecollar 12 hooks over the outwardly extending circumferentialflange 15upon the immovable portion or stationary housing 13. Motion of thehousing 13 in one direction is prevented by the end of the housingabutting the collar 12, while motion in the opposite direction isprevented by the flange 15 abutting the flange 14. Suitable lubricationis provided for the contacting surfaces of the collar 12 and the housing13.

At the top of the housing 13, I provide anair chamber 16 connected tothe air hose 17 by means of a nipple 18. An air passageway 19 connectsthe chamber 16 to a balanced air valve 20. The plunger 22 within the airvalve is normally held by spring tension of the coil spring 23 in openposition, so that there is an unobstructed passage for air within thechamber 16, through the-valve 20, out through the exhaust port 24.

into the inner portion of the governor A from which it may be expelledthrough the natural openings between the various portions of thegovernor, or through holes, not illustrated, formed for this purpose. Inthe closed position of the valve 20, the plunger 22 is forced upwardly,a beveled valve portion 25 seating against the valve seat 26 to preventthe expulsion of air through the valve 20 from the chamber 16.

The plunger 22 is operated by means of a bell crank 27 which is pivotedto a pair of ears 28 mounted upon the housing 13. The bell crank 27 ismoved by a lug 29 centrally positioned upon the yoke 30, which straddles,the axle 10, and is pivoted to the ears 32 upon the housing 13. Aroller upon'the bell crank 27 against which the lug 29; acts, provides avirtually frictionless contact between these two parts, and as the coilspring 23 is of just sufiicient strength to insure the correct positionof the valve when the axle 10 is not revolving, the yoke 30 may beoperated veryeasily to close the valve. The operation of the plunger asthus described may be easily seen and understood in Figure-3 of thedrawings, while the shape of the yoke 30 may be seen in Figure 5.

The lower ends 33 of the yoke 30 which extend beyond the ears 32- towhich the yoke is pivoted areprovided with slots 34. A sleeve 35,slidable upon the axle 10, is provided with a pair of bolts 36,diametrically opposed and extending through the slots 34. The bolts 36prevent the rotation of the sleeve 35 with the axle 10, but

the pivoting of the yoke 30 upon the ears 32 volve with it. Securedpivotally to ears 39. upon the housing 38, I provide a pair of flyweights 40,

adapted to be thrown outwardly from the axle by centrifugal force whenthe axle 10 and housing 38 revolve, against spring tension of thecompression springs 42. Projections 43 upon the fly weights 40 limit themotion of the weights, so that after a certain speed of revolution ofthe axle and housing 38 has been attained, greater speed will not affectthe motion of the weights.

The fly weights are shaped similarly to a bell crank, the end of thecrank on one end of the pivot point forming the weight, and the otherend 44forming a lever by which a sliding sleeve 45 is operated. Slots 46in the ends 44 of the weights allow the insertion of pins or bolts 47mounted upon lugs 48 onthe sliding sleeve 45, and as the weights 40 areforced outwardly by centrifugal force, the sleeve 45 is moved away fromthe housing 38 and forced against the anti-friction facing 50 of thesleeve 35. I Pins 49 extending from the housing 38 in a manner toproject into holes in the sleeve 45 cause the sleeve 45 to revolve withthe housing 38.

It may now be seen that, as the axle 10 revolves, carrying with itthehousing 38, the weights 40 will be thrown outwardly by centrifugalforce. As the weights move outwardly, the slidable sleeve 45 is forcedaway from the housing 38, and against the anti-friction facing .50 onthe sleeve 35. The sleeve 35 is forced toward the housing 13 by thesleeve 45. The yoke 30, pivoting on the ears 32, is forced against thebell crank 27. The bell crank 27 in turn closes the valve 20, preventingany flow of air therethrough from the chamber 16. This position of theparts is clearly illustrated in Figure 4 of the drawings.

The air within the governor is taken from the brake cylinder D in such amanner that but little air is released at a time, so that the governor Awill not interfere with the sustention of proper air pressure in thecylinder, and so that the loss of compressed air will be slight. Thecylinder D is connected with the train brake pipe not illustrated in thedrawings, and operates in the manner well known in the art. The pipe 52connects the air outletfrom the brake cylinder with a reducing valve53,.which is set at a certain pressure. It is obvious that if a lowerpressure existed within the brake cylinder D, no air would pass throughthe reducing: valve 53 and into the governor through the pipe 52;However, a pressure lower than is necessary to pass through thereduction valve 53 will be sufiicient to hold the train or carstationary upon a hill or at astation. This lower pressure is alsosufiicient to test the brake line. Therefore, when the train isstationary, no air need pass through the reducing valve 53 into thegovernor A, so that at such times, as the fluid pressure in the brakecylinder is equal to or less than the reducing valve setting, thegovernor is inoperative to further reduce the brake cylinder pressure.

However, if .sufficient pressure is in the brake cylinder to cause thewheels to lock, this pressure will also be sufficient to pass throughthe reduction valve 53 into the governor. The air, however, cannotescape from chamber '16 of the governor as long as the axle 10 isrevolving, as the valve 20 is held in closed position by the force ofthe weights 40. As soon as the wheels skid, and the axle stopsrevolving, the weights 40 are forced inwardly by the compression springs42, the valve 20 opens, and air is allowed to escape through the exhaustport 24 of the valve 20 until the pressure within the brake cylinder issufficiently reduced to allow the wheels to start revolving again, whenthe weights 40 again act to close the valve 20. A

shut off valve54 permits the governor to be entirely shut off at anytime if it is. desirable, this valve 54 being positioned in thepipe line52 between the brake cylinder D and "the reducing valve53. W

If, in the case of emergency, itis desired to bring the train to a stopmore quickly than could otherwise be possible, it is advantageous torender the governor inoperative, so that the brakes may be appliedforcefully ,toall or the wheels. This is accomplished by means of avalve 55 inthe pipe line 52' which is operated by high emergencypressure. When there is extremely high pressure in the brake cylinder D,this pres sure is transmitted through the pipe 56 whinh is associatedwith the cylinder D, to the emergency pressure valve 55. This pressureacts to close the valve in the pipe line 52', so that no air is allowedto enter the governor A. During the emergency the valve 55 operatesbefore any appreciable quantity of air could escape if the governorshould operate to vent the cylinder. Thus, when the emergency air tankis used, the governor will be held inoperative. Accordingly, when anemergency pressure sufficiently high to operate the valve 55 is'injectedinto the cylinder, no air will be vented. As the valve 55 is interposedin the pipe line between the valve 53 and the governor, the pressurepassing through the reducing valve 53' will not be vented.

The valve 55 is any suitable type of presure operated shut-off valve. InFigure 1, the valve 55 is interposed between the pipes 52 and52'. Acutoff valve is positioned in the lower portion of the valve casing,normally held open to provide free passage of air betwen the pipes 52and 52by meansof a coil spring, not shown in the drawings. A valveplunger, also not shown, is connected to the cut-off valve, and issubjected to the pressure in the pipe 56, which is equal to thepressurein the pipe 52. When the pressure in the pipe 56 reaches a predeterminedvalue, such as '70 pounds for. example, this pressure acts against theplunger of the valve within the valve 55, and cuts off the passagebetween the pipes 52 and 52. As this type of valve is known in the art,it has not been specifically illustrated.

In order to more clearly illustrate the method of connecting my governorso that it will be operative when necessary, and held from operationwhen not desired, say, for example, that the reducing valve 53 is set atfifty pounds pressure. In other words, it requires a pressure of atleast fifty pounds in the pipe 52 to permit air to be conveyed throughthe pipe 52' to the governor A. It

is apparent that any pressure up to fifty pounds may be used in thebrake cylinder without affecting the governor. This is ordinarily muchmore thanenough to hold a car stationary at a station or on a hill, andin slowing up the car slightly, it would not require enough pressure inthe brake cylinder to pass through the valve 53. If more than fiftypounds were used in the brake cylinder, air would pass into the governorA, and, if the wheels started to skid, the governor would act to releasethe pressure in the cylinder, until the wheels again began to revolve.

When a great enough pressure is inserted in the brake cylinder to lookall the brakes for stopping the train in an emergency, seventy poundsfor example, the pressurevalve 55 operates to close the pipe line 52with which it is associated. Therefore, the two pressures between whichthe governor would be operable, will be fifty and seventy pounds,between which pressures the skidding of the wheels associated with thegovernor will occur As the governor is situated on the light weight endof the car B, and as the wheels with which the governor is associatedhave more braking power than the other wheels, the gover nor willactbetween these pressures to prevent the wheels from skidding a longenough time to form flat spots. I have described my governor as beingapplicable for use on a certain axle of the car, however, in a similarmanner the governor may be used on any axle of the car upon acountor-shaft, or may be supported in any manner to be motivated by therolling of the car.

In accordance with the patent statutes, I have described the principlesof operation of mygovernor, and while I have endeavored to set forth thebest embodiment thereof, I desire to have it understoodthat this is onlysuggestive of a means of carrying out my invention, and that obviouschanges may be made within the scope of the following claims withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. An automatic air brake governor for train wheels including, governormeans at all times rotatable with the rotation of the train wheel, meansfor automatically releasing excessive air pressure from the air brakecylinder when the pressure is suificient to cause locking and skiddingof the'wheels, and spring means urging said ieleasing means into openposition, said governor decreasing tension of said spring means as'thespeed decreases.

2. An automatic air brake governor for railway wheelscomprising,governor means adapted to be :7.

continuously rotated with the wheels, air releasing means in saidgovernor connected with theair brake cylinder to automatically releaseexcessive air brake pressure, and automatic means for causing saidreleasing meansto be ineffective under extreme high air brakingpressure, whereby said governor is ineffective in emergency braking.

3. An automatic railroad brake governor including, a governor element,means for operating said element at all times with the rotation of thewheels, means spring actuated in one direction and governor actuated inthe other direction for relieving air pressure from the air brakecylinder when the wheels start to skid to relieve just enough pressureto prevent the wheels from skidding on the tracks in braking, a decreasein speed decreasing the tension of said spring.

4. An air brake governoradapted to overcome the skidding of railwaywheels while applying the brakes including, a governor, means connectingsaid governor with the air brake cylinder, an air relief valve incommunication with said connecting means, means for operating saidgovernor to maintain said relief valve inefiective while the wheels arerotating during the applying of air into the air brake cylinder and topermit said relief valve to automatically operate when the wheels startskidding while applying the brakes, and means for rendering said reliefvalve ineffective for emergency braking.

5. An air brake governor for railway wheels including, a governormechanism mounted upon the wheel axle to turn continuously while saidaxle is turning, a casing for inclosing said governor, one portion ofsaid casing remaining stationary and the other portion being adapted torotate with the axle, an air release valve in said casing, lever andcollar means for operating said valve carried by said stationary part ofsaid governor casing, governor members carried by said rotatable member,a second collar operable by said governor members adapted to engage saidfirst collar to normally maintain said release valve closed during therotation of the axle, said release valve being connected with the airbrake cylinder to regulate the air brake pressure therein.

. 6. A governor for air brake cylinders for raile way trains including,a governor'element, means for operating said governor, an air reliefvalve in said governor, means for connecting saidrelief valve with theair brake cylinder of a car of the train, and means associated with theair brake cylinder adapted to limit the operation of the governor andrelief valve to a predetermined range of pressures and to cause saidgovernor necting and valve meansbetween said cylinder and said governorto shut oil? the connection with said governor relief valve in emergencybraking.

8., An air brake governor for railway cars including, an air reliefvalve, means for connecting said relief valve with the air brakecylinder, governor means for forcing said valve into closed position,spring means urgingsaid valve into open position, the tension on thespring means decreasing with a decrease in speed, means for continuouslyoperating said governor in accordance with the rotation of thexwheelstoregulate said relief valve to cause the same to relieve air pressureover a pre-determined amount, whereby said air brake cylinder isoperated to' prevent skidding of the wheels. 9. An air'brake governorfor the air braking system of railroad cars in combination with the airbrake cylinder, an air relief valve, a governor for operating saidrelief valve, means for operating said governor, means for connectingsaid relief valve with the air brake cylinder, a reduc tion valve insaid connecting means for said relief valve to limit the eirectivenessof said relief valve to a pre-determined pressure range, and anemergency shut-oif valve interposed in said connecting means andoperable by -the brake cylinder pressure tot-shut off the effectivenessof said relief valve-in emergency braking;

l0. Agovernor for automatically regulating the brake cylinder pressureapplied to the brakes of railroad wheels incombination with thecylinder, a governor, a relief valve adapted to be operated by saidgovernor, means for operating said governor to cause the'same to'operate said relief 'valve to relieve pressure in the air'brake cylinderwhen air braking pressure to a-degree of skidding the wheels is appliedin the cylinder,

meansfor connecting said relief valve to the cyl-' -inder, an airregulating valve in said connecting means adapted to operate at certainpre-determined pressures, and a shut-off valve in said connecting meansoperable to automaticallyshut off the connection to said relief valvefrom said air brake line and cylinder when a pressure above normal isapplied.

FREDERICK I. ROWLEY.

